UPDATED: Weather Service investigates possible tornado in Tolland County

Published July 10. 2013 5:00PM | Updated July 10. 2013 7:39PM

The National Weather Service plans to send a team of meteorologists to Tolland County on Thursday to investigate reports of tornado during an early evening storm.

Rebecca Gould, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Taunton, Mass., said strong rain storms moving through Tolland and Windham counties at about 5:30 p.m. had prompted tornado warnings in both counties.

There were reports of damage, supported by pictures and videos of downed trees and power lines, in Tolland County, she said, mostly centered in the towns of Coventry and Mansfield in the vicinity of the University of Connecticut.

While the reports from local officials strongly suggest a tornado, Gould said, the damage survey will determine wind patterns that caused the damage and rule out things like a microburst. Gould said the team will meet with local officials and likely be directed to damaged areas by local fire departments.